Disneyland almost caught Saturday Night Fever as a former Disney employee recently revealed John Travolta almost agreed to be used for one of the resorts most iconic attractions.
The iconic pre-show recording for Soarin’ Around the World is beloved among Disney fans, but it almost looked quite different.
Jim Clark is a former Disneyland imagineer, the position responsible for designing and building the theme park’s attractions, and he recently took to social media to discuss his time with the company as you can see in the post below:
It was mostly a scheduling issue, the little beard was just one more reason to lessen enthusiasm for the idea. Some of us lower level folk were more excited about Patrick Warburton.
— Jim Clark (@ImagineerJim) December 26, 2020
One of the biggest revelations was that John Travolta was almost used for the ‘Soarin’ Around the World’ ride, but his work schedule, and facial hair, prevented them from using Travolta.
“Two months before (Disney’s California Adventure) opened; we still hadn’t shot the preshow. John Travolta was interested, but his movie’s schedule was making it difficult, plus he had this little beard,” Clark said in a since deleted tweet. Instead, the team used actor Patrick Warburton after seeing his performance during a screening of ‘Emperor’s New Groove.’
Despite the initial casting conflicts, many Disney fans would agree that they worked out for the best.
Travolta went on to voice the dog Bolt in Disney’s 2008 film, and Warburton, who is also known for voicing Yzma’s henchman Kronk in “The Emperor’s New Groove,” famously donned a black suit, striped tie, and delivered quotable lines like: “Have a nice flight.”